Work tools such as excavating buckets, shears, rake, etc. are commonly used by equipment and machinery in the construction and mining industries. These work tools such as excavating buckets have working edges that may contact work materials such as rock, stone, dirt, etc. that may cause the working edges to wear down over time, necessitating replacement of the working edge. For some work tools, this working edge may take the form of a base edge that forms part of the front lip of the bucket and that may be attached and detached using various methods such as welding, mechanical fastening systems. These base edges may themselves be protected by attaching wear members onto the base edge, covering the edge and protecting it from the wear caused by work material due to repeated motion and contact with the work material. The wear members may take on various forms including lip shrouds, tool adapters, tools, etc.
Some wear members and other types of ground engaging tools are attached to the work tool such as a bucket using fasteners such as bolts that extend through bores located in the wear member and work tool. A counterbore is often present that surrounds a bore that receives the shaft of the bolt, allowing the threaded end of the bolt to extend through the work tool and the wear member such that its head engages one side of the work tool and wear member assembly and a nut, threaded onto the threaded free end, engages the other side of the work tool and wear member assembly, holding the components together. The counterbore is often oversized compared to the nut, allowing a socket wrench to be used for tightening and loosening the nut.
As can be imagined, dirt and debris may collect in the counterbore as the work tool is used. Eventually, the wear member needs to be replaced either with a new wear member of the same type or another type of wear member or tool. Access to the counterbore is needed to loosen the nut necessitating that the counterbore be cleaned out. Cleaning the debris out of the counterbore may be difficult and time consuming due to the length of time between maintenance intervals. During this time, this matter may become compressed, hardened, etc. in the counterbore.
One prior solution to this problem is proposed by WO 2015/054741 A1 to Keech et al. The dirt plug in this publication comprises a cylindrical member that defines a blind aperture closed off by a top wall. The dirt plug is shown in the figures of Keech et al. to be inserted over cap screw, preventing dirt from collecting in the hexagonally shaped socket of the cap screw. However, this solution suffers from various problems. For example, the top wall is proud of the surrounding structure once installed, making it prone to be damage. Also, there is no suitable way to remove the dirt plug effectively without risking tearing of the dirt plug. Accordingly, a better solution is warranted.